Budget talks stalled; governor still pushing health-care plan

SPRINGFIELD -- With Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes warning of financial upheaval if the state’s budget impasse continues much longer, Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the four legislative leaders resumed their talks.

They did not talk about the budget.

Doug Finke

By DOUG FINKE

STATE CAPITOL BUREAU

SPRINGFIELD -- With Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes warning of financial upheaval if the state’s budget impasse continues much longer, Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the four legislative leaders resumed their talks.

They did not talk about the budget.

Instead, Tuesday’s 2 1/2-hour meeting was devoted to a review of health-care issues facing the state and how Blagojevich’s proposed universal health insurance plan would help alleviate them. Guest speakers included former U.S. House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt of Missouri and a health policy professor from Emory University in Atlanta.

“It was another show-and-tell meeting,” said House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago. “There was no discussion about adoption of a budget for the state of Illinois. We’re beginning to wonder when any of these meetings are going to find their way to a discussion of adopting a budget.”

“Did it move the ball forward on the budget? No,” said House Republican Leader Tom Cross of Oswego. “It’s hard for me to speculate on why we are doing these types of presentations. We need to start having a hard-core discussion about how we are going to balance the budget.”

Both Madigan and Cross said the subject of how to pay for Blagojevich’s health-care initiative was never raised during the meeting. The governor has proposed a business gross-receipts tax and a payroll tax to pay for his proposed spending, including the health-care component, but neither has generated enough support in either the House or Senate to pass.

“I just don’t see where the realism has sunk in yet with the governor as to where we truly are in the process,” said Senate Republican Leader Frank Watson of Greenville. “No gross-receipts tax. No massive new programs. We have to live within our means, and that’s not something he’s willing to accept at this point.”

Although Blagojevich proposed the health insurance plan in March, it has yet to pass either the House or Senate. The Senate was poised to vote on the bill in late May, but not enough Democrats would support it. Many lawmakers in both chambers said their first priority is providing more money for schools. Many also say their constituents are not clamoring for universal health care.

“There’s still a lot of work going on to have that pass in the Senate,” Nix said. “We think that will happen.”

Meanwhile, the clock continues to run on the state’s current budget, which expires June 30. After that, Hynes warned, it will be only a matter of days before the state starts missing payrolls and other payments.

“I don’t know why anyone would want to run the clock out,” Cross said. “I think the closer we get to a shutdown, it is a little unnerving for state employees and people who benefit from the state. There’s nothing good about an extended overtime and a shutdown.”